Business, small or large, must use every available tool to their strategic advantage. Graphics have become a modern era tool that can do so much for a company but is highly underutilized. High impact technologies and hardware with some of the best graphics card under $200 are now available. Visual concepts can do so much for a company. Graphic designs by computer or by hand, communicate new ideas, inspire our children, and captivate consumers.
The following are the reasons any business should prioritize graphic designs in their everyday operations.
Visual interactive content is a key to greater business growth
Conversion rates can reach a 70% increase when business leaders put in place, a Visual-First Method. On the other end of the spectrum, if your content is bland and visually unappealing, expect conversion rates less than 36% lower.
One of the first steps to a Visual First method: Define your audience, which is a fundamental feature for any marketing plan. Next, remember the world is a visual society.
Draw up a buyer persona; include the traditional sales and marketing metrics based on your products and market. Answer the following questions to complete the profile.
- Define your companies visual mode of engagement and preferred platforms. Answering this will be easier than you think. If your company sells the latest wireless headphones on Shopify, then your audience is young and tech-savvy, maybe athletic. Twitter and Facebook would be an obvious choice, dig deeper.
- The next question to ask; favorite types of visual content (include video, GIFs, infographics, etc.) There are so many visuals; it is hard to stuff any type into an all-encompassing persona. Most people enjoy video and streaming movies, or infographics and TV. Again, use your products and experience to narrow down the list.
Graphic goals set businesses above their competition
Define a Visual Strategy for the company. This decision is a fundamental marketing building block for the company and sets the business up for success. Very few successful companies define graphic goals and even less implement the goals for long-term success.
It is important to keep visual content and associated graphics, singular in their purpose. Know the specific market niche you want to target and keep your graphics dedicated to that purpose. Again, the majority of a company's competition struggles with quality graphics.
Keeping the company's graphic presentation for each product, well defined, puts you ahead of the competition.
Branding & Creativity is the answer to long-term marketing goals
Too many small businesses head over to an online directory of logo designs to choose one of the most important graphic design concepts for their company.
Business branding is an identity. It is recognition and popularity gained over time. Any size business faces competition and one way to beat competitors is in graphic creativity. Naming the business, a graphically stunning logo, and visually striking product branding induce trust and confidence for the consumer.
Graphic design and creative use of visual communication can beat the competition in a crowded market.
Visual Assets & Consistent Quality Graphics
Building a consistent brand means, finding specific assets to do the job. Use a cascade method from your branding and product strategies for help.
Here are a few types of visual content you may need for marketing campaigns.
- Interactive Infographic templates, landing pages: Simple to complex these types of graphic visuals, entice clients to explore your content.
- Motion Graphics and Video; Branded video engagement has exploded in just a few short years. In some industries, motion graphics have increased conversions by 80%.
- Social media micro-narratives are a great way to connect with Gen Xbox.
First Impressions
Everyone not living under a rock has heard the adage of a good first impression. In an internet world of less than fifteen-seconds for a first impression, substance wins out.
For small businesses, a good first impression is crucial to building a positive brand and creating a loyal customer base. If companies have only a few precious seconds for influence, a well thought out logo can mean a customer for life.
Fundamental marketing says a good physical first impression is made by appearance, body language, and non-verbal communication. These assessments still hold; however, society has changed. Individuals make lasting decisions in seconds, both online and in real life.
Color and visual graphics are powerful communicators that create lasting emotional and psychological impressions. Businesses should use visual communication tools to influence consumer perception and behavior. Use colors to your advantage.
Visual Landscapes
A few global companies have done such an excellent job of branding, we know them by just a letter, Facebook's iconic F, or Twitter's small graphic bird. Earlier, we discussed the opportunities that come from a visual-first platform and keeping the focus to a single strategy for each service or product.
Complete graphic landscapes entail each component of a company's visual presentation to the public eye. This strategy defines style, color pallet, font treatments, graphics (including photography, animated), motion, and video for the entire company. The good news: some of this only needs to be done once. The bad news: other aspects are an ongoing creative process.
Why does your company need a complete graphic landscape or language? A simple logo design or maybe the stationary color is not enough anymore. Consistency is the key. The same colors, logos, invoices, checkout receipts are the same, online as they are at the local store.
The adage of quality over quantity holds true. Marketers who produce more visual content, rather than a single quality video or infographic are missing the boat. A study by Northumbria and Sheffield Universities found an astonishing 94% of first impressions are based entirely on the visual content of a company.
Conclusion
Technology has finally caught up to a visual world. Person across the globe now enjoy the freedom to express themselves with not only words, but a host of high-quality graphical content. Business that do not embrace this trend sweeping the world will be second-tier companies in the coming years.
